Description
Tough, slightly compressible with poor resiliency, regains considerable resilience on soaking in water. The summit of branch, just outside the periphery of the oscule, gets elongated in the form of a conical structure and this type of ornamentation is noted at the summit of two branches. Oscules vary in diameter from 3-5 mm and compound in nature. Upper structure is ornamented with pillar-like structures and the interior is cavernous. Oscules could be noted only on massively lobose specimen. Surface has microscopic hispidity due to the presence of minute conules.
Skelton is well developed reticulation of amber colored spongin fibers without any differentiation into primaries and connective. Inside the pillar-like structures, some thicker fibers take a vertical course. Such fibers may be densely cored and echinated by acanthostyles. In massively branched specimen, there is differentiation into primaries and connectives in deeper parts, but towards the peripheral parts some fibers take a vertical course and may occasionally be cored by acanthostyles. Diameter of fibers may vary considerably from 0.016-0.138 mm and meshes formed may be irregular in deeper parts to polygonal in peripheral areas. Outer arms of the surface mashes are sparsely echinated by styles in massively branching specimen while in thickly encrusting bits they are somewhat well echinated irrespective of the position. The spicules projecting from the outer arms of peripheral meshes together with those emerging from the tips of ‘main fibers’ support the dermal membrane giving microscopic hispidity to the surface. In thickly encrusting bits the dermal part is reinforced with vertically arranged styles rather densely.
Spicules: Acanthostyles, verticillately spined; whorls 12-20; younger spicules smooth or sparsely spined.

Thomas, PA (1989) Sponge fauna of Lakshadweep Marine living resources of the union territory of Lakshadweep: An indicative survey with suggestions for development Bulletin of Central Marine Research Institute CMFRI 43 150-161 Available at - http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/8213/1/Bulletin_No_43.pdf